Economics

Nativist Group Falsely Blames Immigrants for Unemployment in Tennessee
From the narrow, nativist perspective of groups such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), every immigrant worker who enters the U.S. economy is stealing a job from a native-born worker. In this view of the world, employment is a zero-sum game in which immigrants and the native-born… Read More

More Cities Charting an Immigrant-Friendly Path
Positive changes are happening at the local level throughout the country. A growing number of cities, counties, and metropolitan areas get that welcoming immigrants for better and more comprehensive integration is good for their communities. Just within the past week, for example, the Ohio cities of… Read More

White House Discusses Strengthening Communities by Welcoming Immigrants
This week nearly 200 leaders from communities across the U.S. gathered at the White House for a National Convening on Immigrant and Refugee Integration. Attendees included practitioners, policymakers, elected officials, researchers, business representatives, and faith leaders. The participants discussed successful initiatives, as well as challenges and opportunities… Read More

Immigrants Offset Population Decline and Aging Workforce in Midwest Metros
As Immigrant Heritage Month continues this June, it’s clear that an increasing number of places large and small across America recognize the value immigrants have brought and continue to bring to the United States. After all, metropolitan areas, as the drivers of the nation’s economy, are where the majority… Read More

Immigration and Economic Revitalization in America’s Cities
June marks the first annual Immigrant Heritage Month, a time to gather and share inspirational stories of how the United States has been fueled by our immigrant tradition. As such, in a June 1 post in Forbes, Carl Schramm describes immigration’s historical role in American cities’ industrial… Read More

Foreign Workers Do Fill Critical Needs in U.S. STEM Labor Market
The debate around whether there exists a scarcity of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers is heating up once again. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released a new report claiming there is not, in fact, a STEM worker “shortage” in the U.S., and therefore no need… Read More

High-Skilled Immigration Boosts Native-Born Wages in Cities
Despite the soaring demand there are only 85,000 H-1B visas available each year for high-skilled workers. And as a new report explains, these foreign workers who often work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are helping to boost the wages of native born workers without taking… Read More

How Immigration is Key to New York City’s Renaissance
As a gateway to the United States, New York City has long been defined by the generations of immigrants who have made it their home. In a city of 8.3 million people, more than 3.1 million—38 percent of New York City’s population—are foreign-born, according to the 2012 American Community… Read More

Undocumented Immigrants Contribute Billions in Taxes
Death and taxes, according to Benjamin Franklin, are the only things in life that are certain. And despite the prevailing myth perpetrated by nativist groups, there are plenty of undocumented immigrants facing the certainty of taxes on April 15. They pay billions in state and local taxes every year… Read More

Majority of U.S. Patents Granted to Foreign Individuals
The contributions of immigrants are visible in communities and industries across the nation, and as a recent article highlights, immigrants’ economic and innovative additions can be seen in the form of patent grants. More than half of all 302,948… Read More
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